Meet the StarNow Crew — Katie

Katie is our Head of Analytics and go-to lady for anything Excel related.

She’s a team of one and manages to get a heap of work done! Find out more about what Katie packs in to her work days and check out her advice for you, our fantastic members.

What's your role at StarNow, and what does a typical day at work involve for you? I’m the Head of Analytics at StarNow. I analyse all of the data behind the scenes and work out ways we can improve StarNow. I often do project work where we test new features and see what works best for our members. At times I work with our Customer Success team to work out what targets they need to be hitting to make sure our members have a great experience when they get in touch. Weekly and Monthly I also report on everything that has been happening on the site, so the management team can work out what to do next.

What's your favourite part about working at StarNow? I love that my job is really varied and even though I am a team of one, I get to work with almost everyone in the business, in different capacities. It gives me a great oversight into what’s going on and what we make even better.

If you could give our members one piece of advice, what would it be? Keep on applying – and personalise your application text. Casting professionals want to know what makes you the right fit for their specific job.

What are you best known for in the office? Probably as the go-to guy for making Excel behave. Or maybe as the nosey parker that likes to know what’s going on. My Kindergarten teachers used to refer to me as ‘Big Ears’ for my amazing eavesdropping ability – nothing has changed.

Where is a place in Wellington that is of significance to you and why? Khandallah Outdoor Summer Pool and Mt KauKau. My summer job whilst at university was to be the team leader at this hidden gem. It wasn’t heated so only for the brave hearted – some days we wouldn’t see a soul, others we were so busy we had a queue out the door. In my lunch hour we used to try to race up Mt KauKau (a popular walking track) and back.

A young Katie at Waikanae pool.

If you could visit anywhere in the world you've never been, where would you go and why? I have never been to any of the Nordic countries. All the photos I’ve seen of their wilderness are very beautiful (even rivalling NZ). I would either want to go in the middle of summer for their incredibly long days, or the middle of winter to see just how dark and cold it really is. I also admire their socialist policies – especially their approach to education and how they value teachers.

How do you recharge? I like to walk early in the morning before most people are up, or catch up for a meal with a good friend.

Katie enjoying kid free time in Niue.

What characteristic do you most admire in others? Grit and grace – I admire people who jump in and get the job done without complaining. I am working on this.

If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring? Well, the obvious answer is my kids and husband – but to be honest I could tough it out for a while with a good book, a glamping tent set up and some quality gin and tonic.

Katie and her family at Aqua Duck Gold Coast.

What super power would you choose and why? Travelling at light speed. Some of my favourite people live in the UK and I really wish I could see them more often.

What would you be doing if you weren't at your current job? I always thought I would like being a forensic accountant or an FX trader – so probably something else that involves numbers and problem solving.

What's the most important lesson you've learned in the last year? If you take things one day/hour/minute at a time you can handle almost anything. That, and don’t get a retired greyhound if you want a dog that will go for a long walk with you.

Rascal, the lazy greyhound.

Katie's Fun Facts:

I used to be a maths teacher – my favourite classes were always the bottom stream ones as the kids were always so proud of themselves when they got new things.

I discovered five new compounds (Nitrogenous Spongian Diterpenes from a sea sponge called Darwinella Oxeata) while doing my Masters in Natural Products Chemistry.

I have a kid with a very unusual type of allergy (FPIES), so I am an expert at reading food labels.

Despite basically living at the pool for most of the first 20 years of my life I developed a chlorine allergy – life can be cruel.

I once ‘accidentally’ cut my sisters hair really short with nail scissors – we were a bit competitive about who had the longest hair.

I have a very large family with 2 full siblings, 1 half sibling and 5 step siblings (and they now have partners and kids). I love it. We have awesome Christmases.

Maddison Baker is StarNow’s Digital Marketing Coordinator. She’s multi-talented and multi-faceted - between answering your questions on social media, writing blogs and reporting, she manages to pack a lot into her day (think lunchtime gym sessions to after-work netball games.) She always knows where the newest, coolest café is, the lyrics to Drake’s latest song, and is particularly interested in is particularly interested in writing and people— specifically their stories.